Value of Multiplatform Molecular Profiling (MMP) of Tumors in Clinical Practice

In the last 20 years, cancer treatment has witnessed a paradigm shift with the advent of modern targeted therapies. Still, at present, targeted therapies, despite being very effective, are only relevant for a minority of patients, whereas the majority of patients are still being offered cytotoxic drugs. The goal of this mini-review is to describe the clinical utility of tumor multi-panel molecular profiling (MMP) to guide treatment decisions (primarily chemotherapies but also targeted therapies) in patients with solid tumors and the evidence supporting this approach, focusing on the Caris Molecular Intelligence (CMI) MMP. The evidence suggests that MMP is a practical, implementable tool that can be used to personalize treatment (including that of chemotherapies), increasing the likelihood of response and sparing patients from unnecessary toxicity associated with ineffective therapies. MMP provides the ability to offer therapy to patients in later lines, particularly for those who have already failed multiple lines of therapy and exhausted the standard therapy options (by suggesting therapies which may be used off-label). Furthermore, the evidence indicates that MMP-guided therapy favorably impacts both progression-free survival and overall survival. As the current data consist of mainly retrospective studies, prospective trials are warranted to strengthen the evidence.